Bridgewater business offers passport to adventure

Travel junkie Scott Lussier, a Bridgewater State University instructor and graphic designer, has created Passport Maps, a novel means of preserving travel and other memories.

Staff Reporter

BRIDGEWATER – When Scott Lussier creates a signature Passport Map, the goal is to tell a story.

Not just of the places you visited and things you did.

But the meaningful events and experiences – and moments – that form a memorable life.

“It’s the story of a person’s adventures,” said Lussier, a college instructor, graphic designer and “travel junkie,” who has developed a novel way to preserve memories and feelings.

His creations use notes and photos to construct a unique, customized full-color map of a travel itinerary – highlighting places visited with a legend of personal notes that describe why the memory is significant.

“I’m creating meaningful memories that will make you smile and serve as a great conversation piece and decorative item for years to come,” he said.

The finished product fits into a 12” x 18” or 11” x 17” frame.

Lussier and his wife Nella live in Bridgewater with their three children ages 6, 11 and 14.

He is a Practitioner in Residence in the Physics Department at Suffolk University and a Geographic Information System specialist/instructor at Bridgewater State University.

He also worked as a GIS Specialist at an engineering firm and as an Environmental Analyst for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

But Lussier explained that he caught the travel bug in London, during his final college semester abroad at the University of Rhode Island.

“I did a lot of traveling to Scotland, Wales, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona,” he said. “Before that, I hadn’t really ever left the country.”

Several years ago he decided to create a map of that study-abroad trip using mapmaking software tools.

“The end result was amazing – graphically and dramatically displaying my great memories,” he said.

When friends saw the framed map they all wanted their own versions.

Since his college days, Lussier has been all over Europe and Mexico, and across the U.S. including Hawaii – where he spent his honeymoon – but a favorite memory is when he and his wife visited Greenwich, England, and stood at the Royal Observatory at the 0 Degrees Longitude line.

“That was a really big deal for me,” he said.

A map created from that Hawaii honeymoon includes rainbows the couple came across, things they encountered on a helicopter tour and inside jokes that still spark smiles.

“I try to get people to share really personal memories and give of themselves,” he said.

That’s what makes the difference.

A next step is to try to connect with travel agents and tour operators but he said he has no plan to change careers.

“It has been a hobby and while it’s more now I think I’ll always teach,” he said. “Because I love that.”